Turkey: Keskin says torture has never been legitimized to this extent

Lawyer and human rights activist Eren Keskin said a state of emergency (OHAL) has been used to cover up all violations in Turkey, saying she does “not remember any period in which torture was this much legitimized.”

“Our many lawyer friends are under arrest in Şanlıurfa. The period of detention is 30 days, there are lawyer bans and torture. There’s the strip search, sexual torture. We receive these kinds of complaints everywhere we go,” said Keskin at the “OHAL Practices and Human Rights Violations” conference organized by the Şanlıurfa Bar Association in Şanlıurfa on Saturday.

“I do not remember any period in which torture was this much legitimized. I do not remember any period in which arrests were made this arbitrarily, torture was as legitimized as it is now, freedom of expression destroyed to this extent.”